Produce Express

Nathan sits down with Jim Boyce of Produce Express for the 33rd episode of the Finding Sacramento podcast. They chat about how Produce Express went from one truck in the beginning to the 1800 clients they serve today, why saying yes to everything can be ultimately good for your business up to a point, when the farm to fork trend started in Sacramento and the state of it today, how Produce Express is different from their competitors such as US Food Service and Sysco, how small farms get their product in the hands of Produce Express’s customers and the state of small farms in Northern California, why the farmers market is still the primary source of innovation and inspiration in the kitchen and the produce market, and why local businesses will work harder and persist more than corporations.

Finding Sacramento is a podcast about Sacramento entrepreneurs, musicians, artists, and chefs and how they found their ‘roots’ in the City of Trees.

Jim Mills left his career as a high-profile chef to search for the best local produce for area restaurants

Again, his cell phone rings. You would think it was a produce crisis hotline. Could an heirloom eggplant be suffering a genetic defect? Or maybe some fava beans have lost their snap, their raison d'être?

No, it's a local seasonal chef on the line, which is akin to dealing with a meticulous cult priest.

And he's not happy.

Doesn't like this morning's delivery of salad mix. Seems the leaves are fatigued, lackluster.